Western Undergraduate Exchange

Western Professional Health Care Career & Sciences Exchange

Overview: WUE (pronounced “woo-wee”) is a regional tuition-reciprocity agreement that enables students from US Western states to enroll at participating two- and four-year public institutions at reduced tuition.

The WUE program offered at 150+ institutions have some similarities among all and many variations causing confusion and misunderstandings.

Notes ● Western Undergraduate Exchange - regionally based tuition reciprocity at two and four year public colleges in Western states ○ Up to 150% of resident tuition rates (tuition might be cheaper than Oregon tuition rates) ■ Note: doesn’t include fees, housing/dining, books/supplies, transportation ○ 160 participating institutions (86 four year colleges)

Each college sets their qualifications to get WUE and it changes year to year.

How to get WUE ■ Be admitted ■ Meet the qualifications ■ Be applying for a degree program that is eligible - not all colleges have WUE for all majors ■ Apply for WUE (if necessary - some colleges don’t require the separate application) ■ Some colleges require the FAFSA to qualify.

Note: students may be admitted to school but not receive the WUE rate. But some colleges (NAU!) offer WUE to all admitted students from qualifying states. ○ Students cannot use time on WUE tuition to establish residency (a student using WUE is a resident of their home state) ○ Most are automatically renewable and capped at 4 years

Oregon State University (WUE not applicable to Oregon state residents) ○ Largest university in Oregon ○ One of three Land, Sea, and Sun grant universities ○ Traditional college town - one of America’s smartest, safest small towns ○ 200+ academic programs and zero impacted majors ○ Students are automatically reviewed for WUE, quite competitive (30% of all admitted students from eligible states were awarded WUE from the last admissions cycle) ○ Provost scholarships are available for students who do not qualify for WUE ○ Holistic review, test optional (but they really don’t consider them)

University of Nevada, Reno ○ 17,000 undergraduates ○ 3 hours from San Francisco Bay, 45 min from Lake Tahoe. All four seasons, outdoors activities - great for outdoorsy kids. Reno is quickly growing and affordable. ○ R1 Research institution with only 3,000 graduate students, so a great place for undergraduates to get research experience ○ About 200 majors available, none impacted. ○ Popular majors: engineering, business, sciences, liberal arts, education ○ 3.5 average GPA for admission (3.0 or above automatic admission) ○ WUE ■ 3.25 automatic admission ■ Automatically reviewed for both ■ They stack scholarships on top of WUE.

University of Utah ○ Salt Lake City. Backyard faces the mountains, the front yard faces downtown. Much more college town vibe than a big city vibe. Near 7 ski resorts, access to 5 national parks ○ 24,000 undergraduates ○ 43% of students are not from Utah ○ No majors impacted ○ Popular majors: business, engineering. BS in gaming is big. ○ WUE ■ No cap to WUE scholarships ■ All majors included ■ If a student applies by December 1st and has a 3.3 GPA, you automatically receive WUE ■ Estimated cost of attendance: in state 23K, WUE 27K, out of state 46K

Northern Arizona University ○ Flagstaff, AZ - 7000 feet elevation. 2 hours north of Phoenix. 1.5 hours south of Grand Canyon, 45 min from Sedona. All four seasons, average yearly snowfall: 80 inches, days of sunshine: 264, days above 100 degrees: zero! Great skiing - 15 miles from the Snow Bowl. 11 national parks/monuments within 3 hours. ○ Known for construction management, interior design, biomedical sciences, engineering ○ Consider unweighted core GPA ○ App opens in July! ○ WUE ■ Automatic upon admission ■ All majors ■ No minimum GPA ■ No cap or deadline ■ WUE tuition rate: $16,536 ■ In addition to WUE, they give academic awards based on GPA. Below 3.0: $2500, 3.0-3.49: $5000, 3.5-4.0: $6000

Main Takeaways: 1. Each participating institution sets its own qualifications for WUE but a great, affordable option for students in Western states!

Credit: Gary K Bednorz, College Click Betsie Rugg-Stassen, Northern Arizona University Brandon Gonzales, University of Utah Linda M Dannemiller, University of Nevada, Reno Kelly Pjesky, Oregon State University Dianne Hurtado, Northern Arizona University Session